Progress Seen In Hospital Safety

July 31, 2018

The U.S. avoided 350,000 hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) for Medicare beneficiaries between 2014 and 2016, representing a decline of 8% that saved $2.9 billion in costs, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). In addition, about 8,000 deaths were averted.

The HAC effort is spearheaded by CMS’s Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks, which disseminates best practices for avoiding HACs to about 4,000 of the country’s approximately 5,000 hospitals. HIINs provide direct technical assistance.